South Korean University Students Create AI Deepfakes for Sexual Exploitation
A survey of 1,500 South Korean university students found that among those with experience creating deepfakes, male students reported using the technology for sexual gratification and harassment at rates more than twice that of female students. The study revealed a significant gender gap in awareness and concern about deepfake sex crimes, with 96.6% of actual deepfake victims being female as of 2024.
What happened
A survey by the Korean Women's Policy Research Institute of 1,500 South Korean university students (750 male, 750 female) found that 218 respondents (14.5%) reported experience creating deepfake photos or videos.
Among male students who had created deepfakes, 12.2% reported the purpose was sexual gratification and 8.4% reported it was to harass others, each at least twice the rate reported by female respondents.
As of 2024, 96.6% of deepfake synthesis and editing victims in South Korea were female.
Reported impact
When asked about their feelings regarding deepfake sex crimes on campus, 31.4% of female students reported feeling very anxious and frightened, and 56.3% reported anger and shock. Among male students, the corresponding rates were 9.9% and 36.2% respectively.
Male students showed significantly lower awareness of deepfake sex crimes as a problem: 52.9% of male respondents said they understood the issue well, compared to 72.1% of female respondents.
Index analysis
The researchers noted that 13.6% of male respondents attributed responsibility for deepfake sex synthesis and distribution to the person who failed to manage their photograph properly, compared to 4.9% of female respondents, suggesting some male students blamed victims for insufficient photo management.
The study found a significant gender gap in understanding deepfake sex crimes, with male students more likely to view the problem as unrelated to themselves or as individual actions rather than structural gender violence.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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